Saakhi Guru Gobind Singh Ji and Pareh Hatt

At the time of Guru Gobind Singh jee, there was a Sikh in a distant village whose name was Pareh-hut, or Get-Away. How did he get this strange name? Once he came to see Guru Gobind Singh jee in Anandpur. He wanted the great gift of Naam, or God’s sacred Name. He pushed through the crowd and bowed, but Guru Gobind Singh jee was more concerned with getting through the crowd and shouted “Pareh-hut…Get-Away!” He was so simple that he became happy with Guru jee’s words and took it be the great gift of Naam that he was searching for. He knew Guru jees instructions were to meditate on Naam day and night, so that’s what he did. He would get up at amrit vela in the early morning and chant ‘Pareh-hut, Pareh-hut’ for a few hours. People began calling him ‘Pareh-hut.’ Sikhs asked Guru Gobind Singh jee to show them a Sikh who obeyed the Guru. Guru Gobind Singh jee said go and find Pareh-hut. The Sikhs went to his village and asked at his door, “Bibi jee, is this Pareh-hut’s house?” She said it was and called Pareh-hut to return from farming the fields. They requested him to go with them to Punjab into Guru Gobind Singh jee’s prescence. He agreed, after travelling all day, they rested together that night and at amrit vela he got ready and started chanting ‘Pareh-hut, pareh-hut.’ The Sikhs thought what kind of meditation is this? They chanted ‘Waheguru, Waheguru’ as normal. Reaching AnandPur, the Sikhs complained to Guru Gobind Singh jee, “He doesn’t read his daily Nitnaym prayers, he doesn’t chant the Gur Mantr of ‘Waheguru Waheguru’, he doesn’t repeat the Mool mantr, in fact Guru jee, he doesn’t obey you at all yet you say he does obey you. How can this be?” Guru Gobind Singh jee asked Pareh-hut whether the complaints were true. He humbly replied, “O Satguru Patshah, True Guru King, once I came to you to get the greatest gift of Naam, but there was a great crowd and as I bowed you told me to ‘Get-Away – Pareh-hut,’ I was so happy that you had blessed me with the sacred Naam and by your grace I have meditated upon it and become a knower-of-God, a brahm-gianee.” Guru Gobind Singh jee asked him how he’d reached this highest spiritual state? Pareh-hut answered, “When a woman came into my mind, I would say to my mind you belong to Guru Gobind Singh jee and I would shout ‘Get-Away – Pareh-hut!’ at the lustful thought. Whenever the thought of anger came I would shout ‘Get-Away – Pareh-hut!’ at the angry thought and tell my mind that it belongs to Guru Gobind Singh jee. So Guru jee, by your grace I’ve been blessed.” Guru Gobind Singh jee said, “O Great Sikh you understand this path, you obeyed the Guru while these other Sikhs just read the prayers again and again but don’t apply it to their lives.”